These Are the Voyages: The Collector War
by CuChulainn X19
Summary: The USS Marathon, a Nova-class test bed en route to interspecies war games in 2385, finds itself two hundred years in the past, in an alternate universe vastly more alien than any previously discovered—and in dire need a helping hand. Those genocidal cuttlefish will have no idea what's waiting for them.
1. First Flight

MARS—UTOPIA PLANITIA, 2385

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 41187.5. I am about to take command of the USS_ Marathon _, a recently refitted Nova-class survey ship intended to serve as a test-bed for new tactical systems and second-generation slipstream navigation. We are to engage in war games, systems tests, and advanced tactical exercises along the Cardassian border, in cooperation with Cardassian and klingon teams. Tensions with the Typhon Pact have been escalating. I can only hope what we're practicing won't become necessary._

* * *

"Captain on the bridge!"

The call came from Commander Colleen Gibran, the half-Orion first officer of the _Marathon_. Like a number of the _Marathon_ command crew, Aodhan Mackenzie was of mixed-species heritage, though none of the _Nova_ -class test bed's senior officers shared his human-Vulcan-Betazoid ancestry, or the unusual hybrid telepathic abilities his genome gave him. He wore his thoroughly human, sand-colored hair in a ponytail, sported a carefully trimmed goatee, and wore a longer version of the Starfleet uniform jacket that resembled the flag officer's uniform, sans gold trim.

"As you were," he countered the general rise to attention Gibran's announcement provoked. "Lieutenant Commander Takeda, status report."

Operations Chief Valerie Takeda, one of the few full humans aboard, had remained standing, and responded as Gibran headed to the command console between her and Aodhan's chairs.

"All systems coming online now, sir, and the ship is running beautifully. The tactical systems are in place and all tests indicate they should be fully operational, and the same is true of the slipstream drive, though there may be a slight decrease to the general adaptability of the primary deflector."

Mackenzie nodded at his ops chief's oblique reference to the prototype ablative armor generator, reverse-engineered by the Corps of Engineers from technology the USS _Voyager_ had brought back from the Delta Quadrant nearly a decade ago. "Good news. And our time to departure?"

"Whenever you give the order, sir.".

"Course laid in, Captain," affirmed Ensign Asothi Talas, the ship's communications and navigation specialist, from her seat next to helm officer Horran Ziyal.

"Excellent." Mackenzie assumed his chair and, as Cdr. Gibran did the same beside him, he activated the ship-wide broadcast system. "All hands, this is the captain. We are about to embark on a course for the edge of Federation space, where we will join in an unprecedented interspecies war-games operation. While our objectives will test this vessel and ourselves to her limits and our own, I have every faith that each of you is equal to the task. Our departure begins in five seconds. Carry on." He deactivated the comm system and turned to face the main viewer. "Ensign Ziyal? Take us out."

The USS _Marathon_ glided smoothly out of its construction bay, passing by the vessels still in the works before angling away from the surface of the red planet. The starship accelerated toward deep space, her crew counting down the seconds before they would be traveling at warp to a weeks-long exercise in the Badlands, where both the heavily refitted science vessel and her crew would be taxed to their limits conducting both war games and research aimed at turning the treacherous region of space from a navigational hazard to a strategic asset for the Federation. The _Marathon_ also carried a slightly larger security contingent than usual, thanks to the integration into the crew of a six-person Hazard Team, who would join Cardassian specialists and elite klingon warriors in strenuous infantry tactical exercises and equipment testing.

On the bridge, Ensign Horran Ziyal's fingers hovered over her control panel as she waited to activate the slipstream drive. The young Bajoran officer, as the _Marathon_ 's primary helmsman, would have a central role in the starship's performance in the coming weeks, and navigating the treacherous nebulae and other deep-space phenomena of the Badlands was a challenge she could hardly wait to tackle. At last, Captain Mackenzie sounded the order every helmsman worth their replicator access loved to hear:

"Engage."

Stars turned to streaks of light and then to the swirling blue tunnel of a quantum slipstream tunnel as the _Marathon_ accelerated to lightspeed.

—

STAR TREK: THESE ARE THE VOYAGES

VOLUME I: THE COLLECTOR WAR

—

"Sir," Ziyal called, "I'm reading a buildup in some sort of static energy charge following our flight path. I'm not sure what—"

She was cut off as the _Marathon_ lurched, spilling some of the bridge crew from their seats before the inertial dampeners could compensate. An EPS conduit in the ceiling burst, pouring sparks across the deck, as displays cracked and fizzled. Regaining his bearings, Mackenzie saw that the familiar starfield on the main viewer had vanished, replaced with a massive structure built around a glowing, shifting ball of energy.

"Status report!" he barked. "Tell me we didn't lose anything vital, and then tell me where we are!"

Takeda had managed to grab her console to keep her feet, and had the data ready at once. "Minor power surges across the ship, but vital systems appear unaffected, sir," she answered. "Holodeck One is nonfunctional, but we still have engines, life support, transporters, and tactical systems. Engineering reports a few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious. Sensor data is scrambled, though: I can't make heads or tails of what we just experienced."

"Ensign Ziyal?"

"Astrometrics are online, sir, but the available readings have inconsistencies relative to the charts—and if these readings _are_ accurate, we've somehow ended up close to the Alpha-Gamma border."

"There's something else, Captain," Takeda added. "I'm detecting another superstructure in the system, several times the size of this one, and we have subwarp vessels on an intercept course."

"Hostiles?" Gibran asked.

"No sign they've charged shields or weapons," Pradesh replied. "But it's difficult to tell at this range, and their configuration isn't like anything we've seen before."

"Put the ships on-screen. Raise shields and prepare to open communications," Mackenzie ordered. "If they want a fight, they'll have one, but we aren't here to start something. Ensign Talas, anything yet?"

The Andorian _shan_ shook her head as Takeda altered the signal to the main viewer. "Nothing so far—wait. That's odd. They're definitely transmitting to us, but it's short-range radio only. I'll see if I can translate." She paused, tilting her head to listen. "Oh, my. It's a multilingual broadcast, and I have no idea what three of the languages are—but one is definitely Federation Standard."

"Patch it through," Mackenzie ordered immediately. On screen, a massive starship appeared, dwarfed by the structure they'd seen before, but still many times larger than the _Marathon_ , and arranged in an unusual inverted crucifix around what looked like an interior version of a traditional Vulcan warp ring.

" _Unknown vessel, you have breached protected Citadel space. This is Matriarch Lidanya of the_ Destiny Ascension _. We are prepared to render assistance should you require it. Please respond. Unknown vessel—"_

"Matriarch Lidanya, this is Captain Aodhan Mackenzie of the Federation Starship _Marathon_. We encountered an unknown spatial phenomenon and have come a little out of our way. We're all fine over here, but we seem likely to be stuck here until we can reverse-engineer whatever caused our arrival in the first place, so if there's anyone we should talk to about making arrangements, we'd be happy to meet them."

"Sir, they've altered their signal," Talas informed him. "Still lightspeed radio, but I'm getting a visual component now."

"Onscreen."

The image of the alien ship was instantly replaced by an image of a very humanoid—very _blue_ —alien woman, utterly human but for her skin color and the fact that, in lieu of hair, she appeared to possess a cluster of short tentacles, swept back to follow the curve of a human head.

"Greetings, Captain Mackenzie," she opened. "I am Matriarch Lidanya, captain of the _Destiny Ascension_ and commander of the Citadel Fleet. We noted your arrival when a disruption to the mass relay's energy field caused a disruption in the departure schedule. If—why, you're human!"

"You've met humans before?" Gibran asked.

"Of course she has, Commander," Talas spoke up. "She's speaking Federation Standard."

"Federation—pardon me, but that's the second time you've mentioned a 'federation.' And your vessel is like none we've ever encountered." Mackenzie smiled wanly.

"As I said, we've come a little out of our way. In fact, Lieutenant Takeda, run a quantum resonance scan of the Matriarch's vessel." The alien pursed her lips.

"A quantum—" Takeda interrupted the blue woman with her report.

"Sir, we're more than a little out of our way. We aren't just in another universe—I'm actually detecting a minor variance in the laws of physics, and I think it might explain the lack of a warp signature on the _Ascension_."

For a moment, everyone was very still.

"A… quantum alternate universe? With different physics? Captain, I know a number of asari scientists who will be _very_ eager to speak with you. I assume a warp drive is your means of faster-than-light travel?" At Mackenzie's nod (he decided to avoid mentioning slipstream to any of the aliens, at least for now), she continued: "I won't bore you with the details over a comm channel, but we achieve faster-than-light travel by means of a substance we call element zero, which, when exposed to an electrical current, creates what we call mass effect fields, which are capable of altering the mass of physical bodies within them." She smiled.

"You, I assume, do things differently, and presumably your FTL drive was somehow snared in the Citadel Relay's field and pulled through to our universe. In any case, you should make arrangements to dock at the Citadel and meet with the Council—I'll forward your docking permission to Kithoi Ward travel control and let the Council know you're coming. If no one is there to greet you, simply request a skycar to the Presidium. Good luck, Captain."

The channel winked out. On-screen, the _Destiny Ascension_ turned around and swept into the distance.

"Flight path and coordinates have been forwarded from the _Ascension_ ," Ziyal reported.

"Docking identification code received as well," Talas added. "They were awfully friendly, in a way. I don't think even human-Vulcan first contact went quite so smoothly."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Gibran noted. "We still have to take ourselves to their leaders, and starship captains have a history of taking the unknown better than do politicians."

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it, Number One," Mackenzie noted. "Lieutenant Pradesh, tell Lieutenant Fessenden to prepare to accompany me in a diplomatic landing party. Commander, the three of us should be sufficient for talking to this Council, whoever they are. Lieutenant Commander Takeda, you'll have the conn once we disembark. Sit tight, but monitor our vitals and be ready for an emergency beam-out: I'd like the trust these people, but we don't know them yet. All clear?" A round of affirmations and aye-ayes echoed around the bridge. Mackenzie faced the viewer, hands clasped behind his back, and nodded in reply.

"Excellent. Helm, set course and take us in."

* * *

Hey, new story! Sorry about the long delay on DAWN (if anyone actually reads that): the "Jaundice" arc has been a heck of a headache. I'm about halfway through that chapter now, though, and through with finals, so an update should be forthcoming. I'll probably balance that, this, and possibly "Children of Necessity" (which has bits written for it, just not as much as I'd like) going forward. Future updates to this story will also, with any luck, be a bit longer, but that'll be on a case-by-case basis.


	2. The Citadel

SERPENT NEBULA—CITADEL, 2185

* * *

 _Captain's Log, supplemental. After encountering an unknown stellar phenomenon while en route to the Badlands for combat exercises, we have found ourselves at the other end of the quadrant—and, more pressingly, in an alternate universe unlike any Starfleet has encountered before. The first residents we encountered have so far been fortuitously hospitable, and Commander Gibran, Lieutenant Fessenden, and I are about to board a massive starbase called the Citadel for a meeting with the local leadership, identified to us only as "the Council."_

* * *

Mackenzie, Gibran, and Fessenden were escorted from the _Marathon_ 's docking bay, where a small crowd had already begun gathering, having witnessed the starship's approach, by a pair of apprehensive humans with oddly curved rifles and an absolute inability to stop glancing at the Starfleet officers' nonhuman features—Mackenzie's ears, Fessenden's spots, and Gibran's muted green skin tone. Odd, the captain thought, that humans should exist and even develop the same languages in two universes that appeared to share nothing else in common.

The skycar landed, and the trio were shown to a spare, white terrace occupied by a bald and bare-headed man in a blue military uniform and three holographic aliens: presumably the Council they'd been told of. The human turned to welcome them, shaking hands with a firm grip as he introduced himself.

"I'm David Anderson, humanity's voice on the the Citadel Council, formerly a captain of the Systems Alliance. You've caused quite a stir with your arrival, Captain Mackenzie."

"I imagine it's not every day that you get visitors from an alternate universe," Mackenzie quipped in reply, "much less a universe with such an odd combination of parallels and dissimilarities as ours appear to have."

"Indeed," one of the holograms spoke, a tall, remarkably slender being with a narrow head topped by horn-like protrusions. "We are already familiar with the information you gave Matriarch Lidanya. No element zero, unusual ship design—yet you speak the common human language, use the same writing system, appear... _mostly_ human."

"That would be because none of the three of us are entirely human," Gibran interrupted. "I, for instance, am half-Orion, while Lieutenant Fessenden is a Trill. As none of your species are familiar to me, I assume you are equally unfamiliar with Orions and Trill."

"That would be correct," said another of the aliens, a being with a mask-like exoskeletal facial structure and an unusual duo-tonal voice. "But we find it unusual that so many alien species would appear so fundamentally… _human_."

"We can give you access to Federation medical data from our ship's library computer systems, if that will persuade you," Mackenzie replied. "For that matter, we can give you our entire historical and non-classified technological databases as well—although it seems that you've already verified that we don't use this 'element zero,' if I understand you correctly, Mister…"

" _Councillor_ Valern," the horned alien supplied. "Salarian representative on the Citadel Council. These are my colleagues, Councillor Tevos, representing the Asari Republics, and Councillor Sparatus of the Turian Hegemony."

"Pleased to meet you," Mackenzie said in turn, "and I apologize for not formally introducing myself and my crew members earlier. As you already know, I am Captain Aodhan Mackenzie of the Federation Starship _Marathon_. This is my first officer, Commander Colleen Gibran, and my security chief, Lieutenant Emony Fessenden. We stand ready to share information and cooperate with whatever scientific agencies you can direct us toward to determine what brought us here and how to get us home." Sparatus appeared about to say something, but Tevos beat him to the punch.

"That is agreeable, Captain. I—" She cut herself off as the doors to the terrace opened to admit a human woman in what looked like red power armor, the back and sides of which held more guns than Fessenden or her shipmates could count, a turian in silver-grey armor, though carrying decidedly fewer weapons, and a woman in a form-fitting bodysuit with long black hair and a couple guns of her own. Before the Trill could react, however, Anderson turned and welcomed the first newcomer.

"Commander, we weren't expecting you so soon." The two shook hands enthusiastically.

"It's been a long time, Anderson," the woman—Shepard—said by way of greeting. "I hope the last couple years have treated you right." The councillor winced slightly.

"There have been some rough spots," he admitted. "It's good to have you back."

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return," Valern added, sounding cautious. "Some of them are… unsettling." Mackenzie, Gibran, and Fessenden exchanged confused looks.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," the captain said, "but could someone explain just what has suddenly started going on?"

"Of course, Captain," Tevos answered. "Two years ago, Commander Cassandra Shepard became the first human SpecTRe, an elite special operations group that answers directly to the Citadel Council and combats the most dangerous threats to galactic society. She saved the Citadel and all our lives from a surprise invasion by a machine race called the geth, led by a rogue Spectre, Saren Arterius,"—Shepard made a face at that, but held her tongue—"only to vanish when her ship was destroyed in a surprise attack some months later. Recent reports have placed her in the company of Cerberus, a pro-human terrorist organization. Given her history, we planned to meet with her soon to hear her side of the story—before your unexpected arrival disrupted our scheduling." Mackenzie turned to face Shepard, crossing his arms as he regarded her and, channeling his maternal grandmother as much as possible, raised an inquiring brow.

"Well, Commander?"

"Wait a minute," Shepard said. "You got to hear my life story. Where's yours? What's this about an unexpected arrival, and why do you all look so… odd?"

The genuine curiosity and confidence in her purpose that rolled off the woman knocked Mackenzie out of his analytic bearing, and he laughed sharply before addressing the questions put to him.

"I'm Aodhan Mackenzie, captain of the Federation Starship _Marathon_. These are my first officer, Colleen Gibran, and my security chief, Lieutenant Emony Fessenden. We were on our way to interspecies fleet operations when we encountered a spatial anomaly that deposited us not far from this system's… mass relay, correct?—apparently causing enough of a disturbance to the relay itself to disrupt the departure schedule. We were just introducing ourselves to the government in whose territory we've landed and preparing to begin talks about finding our way home. Your turn."

Shepard regarded Mackenzie with a similar calculating gaze to the one he'd used on her.

"I'll want to hear more about that later, Captain. Councillors," she continued, turning to face them, "Saren wasn't the one commanding the geth. It was the Reaper, Sovereign."

"Ah, yes," Sparatus sneered, holding up his fingers to perform air quotes. " 'Reapers.' The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."

"Wait, what?" Everyone turned to look at Fessenden. "Immortal sentient starships waiting to—what, come and kill everyone? Why did no one bring this up?"

"Because they don't exist," Sparatus insisted.

"Even after a Reaper attacks the Citadel—after I order eight Alliance vessels to their destructions protecting you from it—you still can't believe what was right in front of you!" Shepard exclaimed.

"I've certainly seen stranger things in our own universe," Mackenzie broke in, "but regardless—since I currently have no way to tell who has better evidence on their side—perhaps we should return to the issue at hand. Cerberus? The—what was it—'pro-human terrorist organization'?"

"I believe the Commander," Anderson insisted. "She and her crew encountered a Prothean relic on one of our colonies, Eden Prime. It showed her the Protheans' destruction at the hands of the Reapers, and they spoke to Sovereign during the Battle of the Citadel. But in the absence of more concrete evidence, my colleagues choose to believe the geth and Saren acted alone."

"Go back to Ilos and talk to Vigil," Shepard tried. "Or just look at what's left of Sovereign—it's obvious the technology is more advanced than ours!"

"The hologram on Ilos is no longer functional," Valern told her, "and we have found nothing to suggest that Sovereign was _not_ a geth creation."

"The geth are capable of remarkable technological achievements," Tevos added. "That is probably why Sovereign recruited them."

"This Reaper theory proves just how fragile your mental state is," Sparatus threw in. "You have been manipulated—by Cerberus, and before them by Saren."

"Excuse me, but didn't the commander _stop_ Saren?" asked Gibran.

"That is beside the point," Sparatus claimed. "You know not of what you speak, visitor."

"She has more sense than the three of you," Shepard retorted. "Saren was an organic. The geth would never accept him as their leader. They only followed him because he was Sovereign's agent."

"Saren was a charismatic and compelling individual," Tevos replied. "He convinced the geth the Reapers were real, just as he convinced you."

"Still not seeing it," Gibran said. "Shepard fought Saren, fought Sovereign's invasion, saved you. If Saren was so compelling, why didn't he convince the commander to join him? And if Shepard was intelligent enough to see through a man who could charm a race of machines, why do you all insist on not trusting her?"

"We believe that Shepard believes her story," Tevos allowed while Sparatus fumed, "but that doesn't make it true." Mackenzie physically stepped forward this time, hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Fair enough, from where I stand. I'll decide who to believe if and when we actually see any of this—these geth, a Reaper, anything that sheds some object light on the subject. For now, I believe there are several matters of more immediate concern."

"Thank you, Captain," said Tevos. "We are in a difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus—an avowed enemy of the Council. This is treason, a capital offense."

"Are you kidding me? The death penalty?" Gibran burst out. "When is this, the twenty-second century?"

The Councillors, Shepard, and Shepard's companions stared at the _Marathon_ 's XO.

"It is, human," Sparatus broke the silence with a sneer, which was apparently his default tone of voice. "However did you manage to deduce that, I wonder? Betraying the Council of Cerberus is treason, and the penalty for treason is death."

"We may be primitives in your eyes, but that's too far," Anderson declared, addressing the first part to Gibran and the second to his colleagues. "Shepard is a hero. I'm on this council, too, and I won't let this whitewash continue."

"Maybe there is a compromise," Tevos conceded, ignoring the Starfleet officers. "Not a public acknowledgement, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support."

"Shepard," Sparatus suggested, "if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre."

Shepard looked to Anderson, who nodded, then stepped forward and clasped her hands behind her back to address the rest of the Council formally.

"I accept your offer," she said. "It's good to have the Council on my side."

"Good luck with your investigation, Shepard," Tevos replied. "We hope for a quick resolution… and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus. Captain Mackenzie, I will have my office forward the contact information of a number of prominent asari astrophysicists. In the meantime, so long as you don't cause any trouble, you and your crew should feel free to explore the Citadel... or even assist Shepard on her mission."

"My office will do the same," Valern added, and the holograms winked out.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Anderson said with a nod to Shepard. Mackenzie nodded as well.

"For both of us, I believe," he said. "First contact has rarely gone so smoothly, although I suspect the preexistence of humans in this universe and the fact that we don't exactly have a civilization looming behind us may have had something to do with it. Then again, human-Vulcan first contact was… rather convivial, to an unusual extent given my grandmother's people's culture of logic and restraint. Regardless, my crew and I need to begin planning our next step—since the councillor suggested it, Commander, would you mind filling us in on your investigation?"

"I was hoping for a word with my old captain," Shepard told him, "but Garrus and Miranda can fill you in while we talk, if that's alright." Mackenzie nodded in agreement.

"Of course, Commander. Thank you, and thank you as well, Councillor Anderson." The Starfleet officers followed the turian and the second human woman back out the door of Anderson's office.

"Since Shepard never remembered to introduce us properly," the turian began, "my name is Garrus Vakarian. Former C-Sec, and until a day or so ago a vigilante on Omega, in the Terminus systems. I worked with the commander two years ago to stop Saren. She's a good woman, and a good friend."

"Miranda Lawson," his comrade introduced herself. "The _Normandy_ 's executive officer, and formerly the head of Lazarus Cell, the operation responsible for bringing Shepard back from the dead."

"I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly?" Gibran asked.

Miranda smirked slightly, while Garrus simply nodded.

"A few months after we defeated Saren—after I'd left the crew and gone back to C-Sec—the _Normandy_ was ambushed and destroyed in the Terminus systems while patrolling for geth remnants. Most of the crew made it out, but Shepard died saving our pilot, and the Alliance never found her body. Apparently Cerberus did, though, and they spent two years returning her to life. Did a damn fine job of it, too."

"Human colonies in the Terminus systems are being attacked," Miranda continued. "Entire populations vanish without a trace: no signs of combat or evacuation, they just disappear. We now know that the Collectors are the ones responsible—a secretive race from beyond the Omega 4 relay, which only they appear able to navigate successfully. And Cerberus believes they're working for the Reapers."

Fessenden whistled.

"I suppose it makes sense that one cult would believe another crazy story," she noted, "especially one that lets them play the hero. But I don't suppose there's any harm in looking into this, Captain?"

"Commander, what do you think?" Mackenzie asked, eyebrow raised.

Gibran shrugged and nodded to Fessenden.

"Pretty much was she said, sir. Best case, we help avert a galactic catastrophe, and maybe learn some tricks that can be of use back home; worst case scenario—other than the Reapers being real and us failing—we get some insight into Cerberus operations that we can pass along to the legitimate local authorities."

"Judgement accepted," Mackenzie said. "Mr. Vakarian, I assume you're a ground combat specialist? Excellent. I'd appreciate your bringing Lieutenant Fessenden up to speed on the situation of this universe—start from scratch, leave nothing out. I don't have to see them in action to tell that your guns look nothing like the ones we use, and the armor you and your captain have makes me worry. Ms. Lawson, I appreciate the short version of the story, but I'd like to know everything you can give us on what happened with Commander Shepard and what we'll be walking into, against the Collectors or in this universe in general. And I'd like to arrange meetings between our medical and science personnel, assuming you have a science team."

"We do have those, Captain—Mackenzie, was it?" Miranda laughed as Garrus and Fessenden stepped to the side. "It's _Operative_ Lawson, by the way. Professor Solus is working overtime trying to develop a countermeasure to the Collectors' immobilizing swarms, but Doctor Chakwas and I would be happy to meet with your specialists. Where are you docked?"

"Kithoi Ward. I suppose that's a little upscale for a terrorist group," Mackenzie joked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed. The Normandy is docked in Zakera Ward; I wouldn't recommend venturing there without a gun and an armed native of this universe to back you up," the Cerberus agent replied. "But I suppose we could always meet in the Presidium. I'll transmit a map and a meeting place, and arrange for further communication between you and the commander. Oh, and remember to check out the extranet: you can't believe everything you read there, but with a little common sense it's a good resource for getting a basic picture of the galaxy."

"I don't think there's a universe where Earth made it through the twenty-first century that doesn't have something similar," Mackenzie said, nodding. "Thank you for the reminder, Operative Lawson, and I look forward to working with you." He tapped his combadge. "Mackenzie to _Marathon._ We've made peace with the locals, but our priorities have shifted. Have senior staff assemble in the conference room. Lieutenant Fessenden, do you have the basics?"

"Aye, sir," the Trill answered, clasping hands with Garrus as the turian handed her something small. "Very basic, but enough for a preliminary briefing."

"Good enough. Mr. Vakarian, convey our regards to Commander Shepard." Mackenzie lifted his hand in farewell as his combadge pinged.

"Marathon _to Mackenzie,"_ Takeda's voice came over the radio. " _Sounds like a long story, Captain."_

"It is that, Commander," the captain replied. "I have a feeling we could go over it for hours and still not fully understand. We're on our way back now."

" _Aye-aye, sir. We'll be waiting._ Marathon _out."_

When Shepard exited the human councillor's office, she saw only her squadmates waiting for her—and, apparently, bickering.

"If we're going to fight alongside these people, we have to start by trusting them," Garrus was saying. "And when I'm advocating trust—"

"You gave her your omni-tool!"

"My spare omni-tool, and she had never heard of them. Maybe now they'll be more careful about waving their shiny alternate-universe tech around—of course, that's exactly what you're mad about, isn't it?"

"Alright, you two," Shepard interrupted, moving between her executive officer and her best friend. "What exactly happened while I was in there? Garrus, you gave your omnitool to who?"

"To whom, and to the bloody _Marathon_ 's security officer!" Miranda exploded.

Garrus remained unfazed.

"She had obviously never seen or heard of one before," he repeated, this time to Shepard, "and I figured it was a good way to let them know what they're up against, because I definitely don't want Cerberus taking surreptitious scans of whatever new tech these people have."

"An edge for us is an edge, but an edge for Cerberus is going to come back around and bite us," Shepard agreed. "Miranda, I appreciate the work you do on the _Normandy_ , but so long as your loyalty is to Cerberus you won't have my full trust. The same goes for anyone else I didn't recruit personally or know before I died. Did you make arrangements for us to talk to them again?"

"Tomorrow at noon, on the Presidium—midway between our ship and theirs. I'd suggest bringing Doctor Chakwas, and Professor Solus if he can spare the time."

"Good work, both of you," Shepard concluded. "Let's get back to the ship."

* * *

Tons of dialogue in this one. These folks still have a bit of talking to do, but there should be a fair amount of action coming up as well—plus the rest of the _Marathon_ senior crew!

As far as Mackenzie's instructions to Garrus: ME and Starfleet weapons look nothing alike, and Lidanya already told the _Marathon_ crew about eezo and ME FTL, so he's operating under the assumption that _everything_ in this universe is, or at least could be, radically different than it is in his own. Background on all of these people—or most of them, anyways—will be forthcoming within this Volume, depending on when I can work it in logically.


	3. Tactical Adjustments

SERPENT NEBULA—CITADEL, 2815

* * *

 _Captain's log, Stardate: Unknown. The Citadel Council directed us to several prominent astrophysics researchers, with whom Doctor Parker has begun corresponding. Simultaneously, however, we have become involved in an investigation into the disappearance of several outlying human colonies. We have also discovered that there exists a minor difference in the laws of physics between this universe and ours, resulting for the existence of a substance dubbed "element zero," which creates gravitational effect fields when exposed to electricity, allowing for the development of engines and weaponry vastly like our own. In anticipation of our close cooperation, and the concomitant need to exchange knowledge, I have decided to welcome our new ally aboard._

* * *

Now that he wasn't being escorted to a potentially chaotic first-contact meeting by people with rifles, Mackenzie realized just how massive, pristine, and tree-friendly the Citadel Presidium was. Operative Lawson had managed to track down a relatively secluded area for the _Marathon_ crew and Commander Shepard to meet, although the lounge still offered a stunning view of the station's capital district.

"Captain," Shepard called, drawing Mackenzie's attention from the vista. Rather than her armor from the day before, she wore a black-and-grey uniform emblazoned with the same symbol that Operative Lawson's had borne. "I've reviewed the data your science officer sent us. Not my field, of course, but I got the basics—I'd keep your weapons technology especially quiet if you don't want the Council and every major government trying to lock down the _Marathon_ and take her apart for study and self-preservation." Mackenzie raised an eyebrow.

"I did not anticipate that our technology would be considered so threatening," he mused. "I realized that it is unique in this universe, but—well, I suppose it makes sense. We only developed modern phaser technology during the mid-twenty-third century, although I confess to being surprised at the absence of any sort of precursor technology." Shepard shrugged.

"All our technology—human, asari, turian, salarian—is derived from Prothean relics and the mass relays. Given how far ahead the Mars relics were from what we had at the time, it made sense to make the leap."

"Logical, in a sense," Mackenzie allowed. "Unusual that so many peoples would make the same choice, but not impossible. But I had hoped to discuss matters with you that the Presidium commons should not be allowed to hear. Since we're going to be working together, it seems, perhaps you'd appreciate a tour of the _Marathon_ herself?"

"It's a bit of a walk, but I'm up for it," Shepard replied. Mackenzie smiled knowingly.

"Who said anything about a walk, Commander?" He tapped his combadge. "Mackenzie to Raynal. Two to beam up."

Shepard barely had the time to look askance at her fellow captain before the shimmering blue field of the transporter beam enveloped them both and the Presidium faded away. Moments later, reality returned in the form of a small, cream-and-grey room with curved walls and a console at the far end, behind which stood a brunette, mostly-human woman with distinctly pointed ears. Suppressing the urge to stagger, Shepard managed instead to merely stand stock-still and gaze flatly at her new surroundings.

"What. The hell. Was that."

Mackenzie at least had the decency to look apologetic—if only vaguely so. Perhaps it was the Vulcan in him, whatever that really meant: Miranda had given her only the little she'd gleaned previously about the apparently emotionally stunted near-humans. Then Shepard realized that the more pointed ears on the woman at the console probably meant she was a full Vulcan, and decided to keep her thoughts to herself lest she come across like Ash had.

"Apologies, Commander," Mackenzie yanked her from her near-reverie. "I had hoped to surprise you, but I suppose with hindsight that being teleported for the first time must be a rather startling experience. Of course, transporter technology was commonplace by the late twenty-first century in our universe, so that constitutes another curious divergence—again, apologies. Are you alright?"

"Fine," Shepard managed to nod. "Warn me next time, alright?"

"Naturally. The conference room is on Deck One, but if you'd like to see some of our science facilities, or the holodecks, or engineering, I did promise you a tour."

"You have goddamn teleporters," Shepard said, gesturing broadly. "If there's more stuff like this that you want to show me, then by all means, show away."

Mackenzie nodded and led the commander to the turbolift, raising an eyebrow yet again when Shepard expressed surprise at the voice-control system.

"Deck Seven? How many levels does this ship have?"

"Eight in total. Engineering occupies decks five through eight, with crew quarters and most operations located on decks two through four," Mackenzie answered, leading Shepard out of the lift, down a narrow corridor, and around a short corner to a room about the size of the _Normandy_ 's engine room.

Two chairs on either side faced wall lined with brightly lit systems displays that the soldier couldn't have interpreted if she'd tried; the far two were occupied by a humanoid woman and a bald, blue-skinned man in uniforms like Mackenzie's, but with the same gold trim as the teleporter operator's. What held her attention for several seconds, however—all that had passed in a glance—was the pillar that dominated the chamber on the far side of the room, glowing with blue light that pulsed in time with the engine hum, a hum that, while detectable in the transporter room, now felt almost tangible.

"Rixx, keep an eye on the injection manifolds," the woman ordered, having noticed the newcomers, as she stood to greet them. She had straw-colored, almost white hair, despite her apparent youth, solid blue eyes, and smooth but pronounced forehead ridges. "Captain. I assume this is our new ally?"

Mackenzie nodded. "Lieutenant Ra-Dreii, this is Commander Shepard of the _Normandy_ ; I'm giving her a tour before we sit down to talk strategy. Commander, this is Chief Engineer Kristina Ra-Dreii. How's the ship, Lieutenant?"

"All good, sir, as far as we can tell. We're going over the last of the finer systems, making sure nothing got knocked out of alignment by whatever interdimensional data confluence kicked us here. Do you have any particular questions, Commander Shepard, or is this purely a sightseeing tour?"

Shepard felt a little stung by the question, but she could tell the chief engineer had endeavored to phrase it neutrally. Besides, of the people currently on her ship, only Donnelly and Daniels would be equipped to have an enlightening discussion about the engines of a vessel from another universe. For a moment, she acutely felt Tali's refusal to join her, but dismissed it firmly, reminding herself of the quarian's mission and openness to the future.

"I'm just a soldier, I'm afraid," she replied, "so I doubt there's much I could ask that would get us anywhere. I know you travel by folding space instead of using eezo—I assume that's your power core?"

"That's correct," Ra-Dreii answered. "New as they come. The matter-antimatter reaction powers the warp engines and the _Marathon_ 's plasma circuitry—and it's protected by powerful force fields, so I'd stay away from it even if you don't mind reducing everything within a dozen kilometers to subatomic particles."

Shepard sucked in her breath, less at the insinuation that she or her crew might attempt to destroy the _Marathon_ 's power core than at the unbelievable amount of power Ra-Dreii had just implied the starship could produce. Even an asari dreadnought would have difficulty matching the output of this tiny vessel.

"Matter-antimatter? My god, how do you—never mind, I'll let Daniels or Tali summarize it for me, if you ever feel like explaining it to them," Shepard said, visibly shocked by the idea. "You must have backups—?"

"Helium fusion reactors power our impulse drives and generate emergency power," Ra-Dreii responded. "If we have to jettison the warp core, they can also provide enough energy to get us to warp speed, the idea being to get to a starbase as soon as possible. That's not an option here, so we've got to make absolutely sure nothing happens."

"I'll let you get back to it," Mackenzie said. "Let me know when we'll be ready to go. Keep us safe, Lieutenant."

"We should only need a few hours to finish fine-tuning the last systems, sir," Ra-Dreii told him.

Mackenzie nodded. "Make it so."

"Aye-aye, sir." Ra-Dreii saluted and turned back to her console as Shepard and Mackenzie headed for the turbolift.

"Deck One," Mackenzie ordered. "Well, Commander?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow of her own.

"It's a hell of a ship, that's for sure," she began. "If you'd been hostile—hell, the entire Citadel fleet wasn't enough to stop Sovereign and the geth, but you could probably take down a Reaper single-handed. I'd ask if you'd be willing to share, but the power requirements alone—we'd have to completely gut every ship we wanted to outfit with your technology, or else build them from scrap."

"Well, sharing technology is what we're here to talk about," Mackenzie pointed out. "And you're right about our shields and warp drives, although you could probably power the latter without a substantial overhaul, but of course the engines themselves would require significant work to install. Our armor and weapons technology, however, should be significantly more adaptable: phasers, for instance, create a highly controllable chain reaction in their targets, meaning—"

"That they're substantially more powerful than the actual amount of energy required per shot. Damn, that's impressive. I remember that from that the data you shared, but—you let that slip and every major power in the galaxy will be after you. I don't suppose we could get one of those on the _Normandy_?"

They'd reached the conference room, and Mackenzie delayed answering to usher the commander inside. Commander Gibran was waiting by the head of a slightly curved table, beyond which a long window looked out onto the Kithoi Ward docking area. Shepard imagined the view was better in space. She and the green woman nodded their greetings and sat down, Mackenzie in the captain's chair, Gibran to his left and Shepard to his right.

"Captain Mackenzie and I have discussed the possibility of technology exchange at some length," Gibran said. "There are obstacles, of course—our Prime Directive, the fact that we can't yet independently confirm the existence of the Reapers—but the likelihood of our seeing serious ground combat, which is not something Starfleet has traditionally emphasized, means we're willing to talk."

"We don't have time to wait until we can track down the Collectors," Shepard insisted, "much less wait until the Reapers arrive. I appreciate the offer, but if you can't help us now there won't be enough time for it to count."

Mackenzie pursed his lips and nodded slightly. Shepard's emotional responses confirmed what he had already gathered: the commander, at least, believed in the Reapers entirely. He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"There is one possible method. Are you familiar with the concept of a mind-meld?"

Shepard looked skeptical.

"That's how the asari reproduce, but…"

"I assure you, sexual intercourse will not be involved," Mackenzie stated dryly. "Vulcans are touch-telepaths. Although I am only one-quarter Vulcan, I am nonetheless able to initiate a meld, so long as I have the other being's full cooperation. My Betazoid receptivity to others' emotional states also helps smooth the connection. In this way I would be able to experience firsthand the Prothean beacon and the other experiences you referred to before the Council, and evaluate your judgement." Shepard still appeared conflicted, so he added, "I am well aware of the inherent privacy of one's own thoughts. I will experience nothing you do not wish me to, and I will hold anything not directly relevant to our situation in the strictest confidence, Commander. You have my word."

The commander blew out a deep breath, steadied herself, and nodded. Mackenzie reached out slowly, placing his thumb on her chin, index finger below her eye, and middle and ring fingers between eye and ear.

"My mind to your mind," he intoned. "My thoughts to your thoughts…."

* * *

 _A city on fire. Four-eyed beings with triangular heads firing at more like-them-but-not with flailing arms as death descended from the sky in the form of giant ships like massive sea creatures._

 _A gray-faced turian standing in shallow water. "_

 _An asari, eyes bright, stance awkward, voice doubled. "We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams. A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with its own sour note."_

 _A flickering holographic form, the remanat of a lost species. "My name is Vigil. You are safe here for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe."_

 _A blood-red, holographic cuttlefish, a voice deep and resonant with multiplicity and age. "There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"_

 _An asari in pointed black robes. "It is a terror to be trapped in your mind. To beat upon the glass as your hands torture and murder. I was powerless, nothing but a tool for Saren."_

 _A turian, or what was left of one, crashing to the ground, eyes replaced with glowing lights that dimmed before the corpse burst into flames._

 _The blood-red hologram. "Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over."_

* * *

Mackenzie sat back, hard. "Alright. I believe you."

"Captain, are you sure—" Gibran started, but Mackenzie held up a hand to cut her off.

"Yes, Commander, I am. Others have already verified the origins of the artifact from which the vision originated, and the accuracy of Shepard's interpretation of the vision and the following events is clear to me. The Reapers are real."

"So you're willing to share tech?" Shepard asked.

"Technically," Mackenzie noted, "you're a pre-warp civilization. As such, we shouldn't provide anyone in this galaxy with technology that would alter the balance of power. But given that you do have some form of FTL travel, and, more importantly, given the Reaper threat, I think I can make a case to Starfleet. But I'm insisting on two conditions: once we have tangible evidence of the Reapers, everything we give you goes directly to the Systems Alliance, and nothing gets installed on the _Normandy_ until we can be dead certain that anonymous reports to Cerberus are impossible."

"That will be difficult to guarantee," Shepard warned. "Anyone with an omni-tool could take scans of any weapons or armor we bring onto the ship."

"Which is why we disabled your scanner when you beamed aboard ours," Mackenzie replied. "But we can incorporate harmonic resonance modulators that should block your scans fairly easily, although I would prefer to test the application first. The problem is with larger technology, anything we might try to install on the _Normandy_ herself."

"I'll just pretend I know what a harmonic resonance modulator is," Shepard joked. "But yes, I can imagine ship-mounted technology would be harder to cloak. I can try to restrict access to the forward battery—I trust Garrus implicitly, and he's not Cerberus anyways—but we'll agree to stick to the small stuff for now. Is that good?"

Mackenzie and Gibran nodded, and the captain thumbed the comm controls. "Mackenzie to Fessenden and Parker. Report to the conference room."

A moment later the doors swished open to admit the two officers. Pradesh wore a gold-trimmed uniform like the ones Fessenden and and Ra-Dreii had worn, and sported a subtle set of ridges along her nose; Parker, a dark-skinned man who at least appeared to be entirely human, wore a uniform with blue-green trim. The security chief sat down next to Gibran, while Parker circled the table to sit one seat down from Shepard, allowing the commander some space.

"Lieutenant Salima Pradesh, chief tactical officer," Mackenzie introduced the newcomers, "and Doctor Owen Parker, the _Marathon_ 's overall head of sciences, specializing in applied physics. Doctor, Lieutenant: Commander Shepard and I have agreed to a preliminary exchange of technology, pending further communications with the Citadel Council and, in particular, the Systems Alliance. Given the circumstances, I'd like to focus on weapons, countermeasures, and faster-than-light technology from our end—anything to give this galaxy a better chance against the Reapers. We won't be sharing anything that can't be scan-proofed for now, but I want your ideal recommendations, from a feasibility standpoint and a security one."

"Well, infantry weapons would be easy," Pradesh spoke up, "although I don't know how much tech we want to put in the hands of a terrorist organization—you can't tell us that no one on your ship is loyal to the Illusive Man."

Parker nodded. "I agree. Older phaser models should integrate pretty well with your existing systems, and our armor generator draws on its own power supply. The problem with shields is the power draw, and that applies to warp or slipstream engines, as well—plus the fact that either one of those would require a massive overhaul of your powerplant and engine designs."

Pradesh raised a finger, adding, "I would recommend against releasing fully up-to-date weapons technology of any kind to the _Normandy_ , and probably to the Systems Alliance as well, but even twenty-third-century phasers are powerful enough to count as heavy weapons in this galaxy. I have to stress, however, that nothing should be released to or installed on the _Normandy_ until it's been shielded against omni-tool scans. We _do not_ need Cerberus as a whole to get their hands on this kind of technology."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "We were just talking about ways to fix that. I can send Mordin over to help you see if there's a way to accomplish that—he's got nothing to do with Cerberus, even if he has made some ethically questionable decisions in his past. What do you want in return? Our military tech's got nothing on yours, but there have to be some things here you haven't seen before."

"Actually, Commander," Parker replied, "I for one would be very interested in the opportunity to study your mass accelerator weaponry, and element zero is—well, Starfleet's encountered some very strange things over the centuries, but I've never even read about anything like this."

"Your omnitools appear rather impressive as well," Pradesh added, "so extend my thanks to your officer on that count, and I'd certainly appreciate the chance to at least take a look at your armor before I have to lead my team into combat situations. Our Hazard suits are durable, but knowing how you prepare will let us weigh our own defenses—ground combat isn't something Starfleet has long paid much attention to."

"Agreed," Mackenzie said. "The same applies to your medical technology—in fact, why don't we have Doctor Paulsen and your medical chief take tours of each other's labs? Assuming both are amenable, of course. I believe there's a lot for us both to learn there. Dr. Parker, you and Mordin can do the same: I'd like to keep the scan-proofing work in-house, at least in the early stages. Other than that, though, it's settled. My officers will work on replicating and scan-shielding a complement of older phasers for the Normandy, and developing armor and phaser technology that we can safely install on your ship, and we'll get a few of your guns and a suit of armor. Is that acceptable?"

"I'd say it's more than generous, Captain. I'll make sure we send over a good variety of weapons for you to take apart, and maybe that Cerberus assault armor the Illusive Man gave me. And I'll let Karen—that's Doctor Chakwas—know to get in touch with your Doctor Paulsen, and the same for Mordin and Doctor Parker. I suppose you'll want one of your officers to escort me back to the shuttle—I'd throw one of ours into the bargain, but Cortez would kill me."

Mackenzie cracked a smile. "He and Ensign Hullum have something in common, then. Lieutenant Pradesh, why don't you walk the commander to the transporter room? Best to get used to it, I think, Commander, like using an improved head on your lirpa. I'll visit Doctor Paulsen and see about arranging a meeting with Doctor Chakwas."

The meeting adjourned, Pradesh and Shepard heading for the transporter, Gibran returning to the bridge, and Parker going back to his lab. Mackenzie remained standing at the head of the table, thinking of what he'd seen in the commander's mind. It would be imperative to learn as much as possible of the Reapers' capabilities; perhaps Vakarian or others of Shepard's associates would have access to information gleaned from Sovereign's corpse in the years of her own convalescence.

" _Paulsen to Mackenzie_ ," his combadge chirped. " _Captain, Ensign Raynal brought something to my attention that I think you'll want to see._ "

"Mackenzie here," the captain answered. "I was about to come speak to you, Doctor. I'm on my way."

* * *

Dun-dun-dun. Purgatory and Korlus up next! (Not in the same chapter, no. But the action will be picking up soon, I promise.)


	4. The Convict

CITADEL, SERPENT NEBULA

* * *

Mackenzie strode into the sickbay and followed the point of Ensign Tevik's finger to the back chamber, where Paulsen sat staring intently at an array of transporter readings and hypothetical bioscans.

"Doctor?" he asked. "You said Ensign Raynal found something unusual in Shepard's transporter pattern?"

The doctor started momentarily. "Ah. Captain. Yes—in fact, several things. Take a look: you see those abnormal structures on her DNA? Those are nodes of element zero. The transporter had some difficulty with them when she first beamed aboard, which is how they came to T'Sala's attention. Then," she added, bringing up a set of different scans, "she forwarded the readings to me, and I discovered this."

It took Mackenzie several seconds to figure out whether he was looking at a human skeleton or the framework for a Soong-like android.

"Well," he murmured, "Vakarian and Lawson did say she was brought back from the dead."

"I suppose you aren't joking," Paulsen replied, raising an eyebrow. "Although that would be a logical explanation, given certain circumstances. Do you intend to confront the commander?"

" _Hrrau ch'Rih'ri, sthu Rihan_ , Doctor—it's their galaxy, after all."

She raised her eyebrow more sharply. "Your Romulan is terrible, Aodhan, but your assessment of the situation is not inaccurate. I was able to access their extranet, and it appears that physical augmentation for medical and military purposes is quite common, usually in the form of gene therapy, as risky as that sounds. Which brings me to those element zero nodes on the commander's DNA. Element zero creates gravitational effect fields when exposed to electricity, and it turns out that neural signals can have a similar effect, which individuals can control to remarkable levels: telekinesis, force fields, gravitational shears. In short, proper exposure to element zero can endow organic beings with superpowers."

"Can you replicate the effect?" Mackenzie asked, turning with increased interest back to the scans.

Dr. Paulsen nodded cautiously. "All I'd need is a supply of element zero. Even if Ra-Dreii can't find a way to replicate it, there are abundant supplies to be mined on a number of readily accessible planets across the galaxy. The problem I'm concerned with is the ramifications if we ever make it back to our own galaxy. Per Commander Takeda's scans and Doctor Parker's observations, eezo exists in this universe as a result of slight differences in the fundamental laws of physics. Now, I'm a doctor, not a theoretical physicist, but the degenerative effects of a biotic crossing into our universe could be… severe. I'm not saying no, but I'll have to do more research before I feel comfortable allowing the procedure to be performed. Maybe I'll at least be able to determine a way to reverse it if such destabilization does occur.

"Anyways," she added, "there's the larger problem of the Federation ban on genetic augmentation. We might be able to make the argument that this isn't really genetic tailoring, and obviously a number of the classical risks wouldn't be present, but we're already skirting the line as it is."

"Damn you, Khan," Mackenzie muttered. "Well, I won't order you to flirt with a court-martial, Doctor, so we'll put a hold on introducing biotics to our own capabilities. But keep up your current line of research—even if we aren't allowed to use it, I'm sure someone in this universe will find it worthwhile." He stood back and leaned against the wall, facing Paulsen. "By the way, Commander Shepard and I thought you and her chief medical officer might like to visit one another's labs. The experience could be mutually beneficial."

"A highly logical proposition," Paulsen replied. "Has the _Normandy_ 's doctor been consulted yet?"

"The commander said she'd bring it up when she got back to her ship, so they should be having the same conversation right now. We're not leaving until 2000 the day after tomorrow, since Shepard's taking a detour to fulfill a contract Cerberus made with one of her operatives. In the meantime, Commander Gibran, Doctor Parker, and I will be having a private dinner at 1800 tonight to discuss our options more informally, and I'd appreciate your coming as well."

"I'll be there, Captain," the doctor promised, "although I may have to set an alarm—there's an extraordinary amount of literature to get through if I want to truly understand the state of medical science in this galaxy. Make sure we aren't at risk of getting blown up by the first hostiles we come across. And I presume we're still on for the holodeck?"

"Our initial scans make me think we'll be at least reasonably safe," Mackenize promised. "I'll see you in Holodeck One at our usual time, assuming no immediate crisis springs up again—although you may want to give your lirpa a few practice swings if you can spare the time. Good luck with your reading, Doctor."

* * *

 _Captain's log, supplemental. We're preparing to travel to a region called the Hourglass Nebula, where Commander Shepard intends to recruit a fifth member for her ground team: a dangerous convicted criminal named, simply, Jack. The facility that holds her, however, appears almost as disreputable as its prisoners, so Hazard Team is preparing to stand by in case emergency intervention is called for._

* * *

"Captain on the bridge!" Gibran called as Mackenzie entered.

"As you were," he countermanded immediately, before Ensign Talas had been able to rise from her seat. "Commander, what's our navigational status? I'd like to be able to travel without the aid of these relays, but that means slipstream, and we can't risk that if we aren't certain where we stand." His first officer gestured to the navigation specialist.

"Ensign Talas was in charge of recalibrating astrometrics, Captain," she told him. "Lieutenant Pradesh noticed some severe battle damage to the Citadel, which turned out to be from the attack Shepard contained two years ago, so she and I have been working on a comprehensive tactical assessment in case we end up facing someone who's not as friendly as Matriarch Lidanya."

"Prudent, Commander," Mackenzie replied, "but of secondary concern for the moment. The _Normandy_ departs this afternoon, and I'd prefer to be ahead of schedule if we don't have to travel by neutron-powered gravity slingshot. Ensign Talas, report."

The Andorian swiveled her chair to face them, then rose and clasped her hands behind her back. "Sir, I've managed to calibrate our own astrometric data with the available star charts from this universe and historical information from ours, but the resulting picture is incomplete, and non-deterministic. Shipboard sensors can provide the data we need while in transit to maintain the slipstream field, but that's a lot of data that needs to be computed and double-, even triple-checked very quickly if we want to avoid what almost happened to the _Voyager_ ten years ago. I'm recommending activation of the ECH."

Gibran looked askance. "I thought the Emergency Command Hologram was designed to function as backup captain in case all flag crew were missing or incapacitated. Wouldn't the program's processing requirements cut into the computer's ability to run your calculations?"

"No, sir," the ensign replied, catching herself at Gibran's minor wince. "Commander. The ECH's processing matrix is a holotronic design, completely separate from the main computer. The tradeoff should absolutely be worth it, Captain, Commander."

Mackenzie pursed his lips almost imperceptibly. Ensign Talas was right about the Command Hologram, of course, but he lacked the raw data to make an assessment of its suitability as a mathematical backstop, and without that certainty, it was difficult to justify giving what could be an extremely hazardous order to his crew. And yet… their options were clear, and he trusted in his crew every bit as much as he strove to keep them safe.

"Computer, activate the Emergency Command Hologram."

A tall, skinny young man with short hair and a red-trimmed uniform materialized on the bridge. "Please state the nature of the tactical emergency," he requested robotically, before locking his eyes first on Talas and Ziyal, then on Mackenzie and Gibran.

"Wait a minute. You're the captain. Nothing appears to be amiss, so why was I activated?"

"No emergency, Commander," Mackenzie told him, "but we do need your brainpower. We've ended up in an alternate universe, and need to use our slipstream drive—but our navigational data doesn't line up with astrometrics, and the locals have limited data about any regions not linked by the jump points they use."

The AI smirked. "We're saving a galaxy from fossil dependency, then? I wouldn't have expected them to qualify for our intervention, but you're the captain, as odd as it is for me to have the opportunity to say so. One moment—Commander Takeda, would you patch me through to the relevant sensor arrays? Thank you."

* * *

USS _MARATHON_ QUANTUM SLIPSTREAM TUNNEL

* * *

Kristina Ra-Dreii, Owen Parker, and Emony Fessenden stood assembled in Science 2, a suit of unpainted power armor partially assembled at a central workbench, with vials, circuits, and partially assembled or disassembled weapons, both element zero rifles and standard phasers, scattered around the room.

"Good news, Captain," Ra-Dreii greeted as Mackenzie strode into the science bay. "We've been able to make some impressive upgrades to the standard hazard suit using Shepard's battle suit. Full plate armor, for one thing, with the helmet able to be stored in the transporter buffer and equipped directly—in fact, the entire exoskeleton can be beamed into position over a standard survival suit. And, given the structural redevelopment including the plating necessitated, it was pretty simple to include the tactical cloak, as well."

"We were also able to integrate some of the original Cerberus suit's omni-tool capabilities, although T'Sala and Ensign Hullum are still working out some compatibility issues with higher functions," Fessenden added. "Dr. Paulsen says the medi-gel Dr. Solus gave her is fascinating, but doesn't immediately offer any benefits beyond our dermal regenerators."

"Medi-gel?" the captain inquired.

"The cutting edge of combat medicine in this universe," Fessenden replied. "It's—well, a gel that can be applied via omni-tool to stop and partially repair wounds, from bullet holes to disease symptoms. Their cybernetics are more on a par with ours, but in terms of medical science this is still definitely the twenty-second century."

"Standard omni-gel appears more promising," Dr. Parker amended, "and it could cut down on our reliance on replicated supplies, if that ever becomes a problem for reasons of power consumption or otherwise, once we fully dissect the details of omni-tool functionality. It's programmable matter—not quite good enough to eat, but capable of standing in for replicated industrial parts or projectile ammunition with no one able to tell the difference. The combat suit's omni-tool can use it to create a flash-forged blade weapon, for instance. It might be more efficient as a matter supply for our replicators, as well, although that's pure speculation at this point."

"Excellent work, everyone. If we see this Collector operation through, which I intend to, I've no doubt we'll be seeing plenty of ground fighting. Any conclusions on their weapons?"

"Nothing Shepard sent us appears especially threatening, sir," Fessenden replied, picking up a few of the said guns and laying them on the table. "Standard assault rifles and other firearms fire tiny, eezo-guided metal shards that are lightened by a mass effect field and accelerated by a conventional gas explosion. The result is that they move very fast, but have force only comparable to a conventional ballistic weapon, while the user experiences sometimes significant recoil."

"I was also able to incorporate a personal force field into the suit," Ra-Dreii added, "so anyone in the field should have substantial resiliency under fire." At Mackenzie's eyebrow, she continued, "The technology is honestly fairly simple: even without advanced small systems training, a clever security or science specialist could jury-rig a serviceable anti-projectile shield using a tricorder and a few additional materials. The reason the Borg never fully adapted was their focus on software modification and hardware acquisition, rather than genuine invention. A tight-beam phaser could penetrate this sort of shield fairly easily, so they never saw widespread use and were consequently never assimilated."

"They do have a broad range of effectiveness, though," Fessenden noted. "The heavy weapons are somewhat more concerning, but the explosives should be survivable with decent reaction time, and the arc projector appears to be a rather unique weapon; it's unlikely we'll encounter someone else using it, but we should be careful in the event that we do. Biotics are the real challenge: we'll have to wait and see how the armor holds up in the field unless Dr. Paulsen finishes her research soon."

"At the same time," Dr. Parker interrupted, "the data we do have suggests that most direct biotic attacks should only be capable of doing modest damage in a single strike. Survivable, just like the rockets. Lieutenant Fessenden has all sorts of ideas for enhancing maneuverability and tactical options, but even as things stand this suit is just about on par with a heavy combat drone."

"That's an impressive claim, Doctor, and I've no doubt you mean it. Is the armor combat-ready?"

Three faces tightened in concern.

"This model is, yes," Parker allowed. "But we haven't had time to conduct full molecular scans, so we can't provide additional copies until… tomorrow at the earliest."

"At the latest, as well," Ra-Dreii insisted. "We've stripped out all the element zero-reliant technology included in the Cerberus suit—hell, we could probably use the pattern buffer data to reconstruct this thing using the industrial replicator in the cargo bay, adjusted to fit whomever needs to wear one."

"How long would that take?" Mackenzie asked.

"Replicating the suit exactly, maybe twenty minutes once we get this thing to the transporter room," the chief engineer told him. "Custom sizing, maybe five or ten more minutes per suit, allowing for the time required to analyze personnel clothing measurements. Two suits we could do almost simultaneously, but it would take some time to outfit an entire away team."

"Don't, then," the captain ordered. "Get me a second suit and a mobile emitter. I'll be in the cargo bay to suit up in fifteen minutes. Dismissed."

* * *

OSUN SYSTEM, HOURGLASS NEBULA

* * *

Fessenden, Mackenzie, and the Emergency Command Hologram waited quietly on the transporter pads as Shepard's conversation with Warden Kuril filtered over the comm system. There hadn't been time for cosmetic detailing, so the captain and security chief wore identically featureless battle suits, while the ECH simply wore a pattern buffer belt built around a mobile emitter. All three held type-II phasers in their hands, ready to act immediately on materialization if their intervention was required.

Meanwhile, they listened with growing disgust to Kuril's accounts of his business practices.

"This is why no one in the Quadrant keeps their prisoners on ships," Fessenden growled—the comm feed was one-way—when Kuril informed Shepard that he extorted planets using his "cargo." "Sure, they've got nowhere to go, but the only difference between something that can't go wrong and something that can is that something that can't go wrong is usually impossible to fix when it does."

"You just said what every chief engineer in Starfleet has been saying since they received their first assignment," Ra-Dreii replied from the control console.

"Only chief engineers, Lieutenant?" Mackenzie quipped.

"Only the ones who make it to chief," the Efrosian answered. "Anyone who doesn't understand that simple fact will either take a plasma burn to the face sooner or later, or they'll end up reassigned to the Starship Design Bureau to brainstorm the next _Defiant_ Project."

The radio crackled. " _My apologies, Shepard_ ," a turian voice echoed, instantly shifting the mood of the room to one of tense preparedness. " _You're more valuable as a prisoner than as a customer. Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed_."

"Everyone ready?" Mackenzie asked. Fessenden and the ECH nodded, and the captain drew his sidearm and looked to Lieutenant Ra-Dreii.

"Energize!"

The three Starfleet officers vanished in a blue, shimmering cloud, materializing in the hall at Shephard's side. Three armored Blue Suns guards looked at them in surprise as their raised their phaser pistols and fired. The guards collapsed, and Mackenzie gestured to the door.

They met minimal resistance before they encountered Shepard at a junction in the corridor. "I don't know where outprocessing is, but it's not down that hall," the commander joked, gesturing the way she, Garrus, and their third team member—a woman in a hooded bodysuit who activated a tactical cloak and ran ahead to engage the Blue Suns at close range—had come. "Who's your third guy, and why doesn't he have armor?"

"I am the Emergency Command Hologram," the ECH replied, stepping forward to fire fearlessly at two additional mercenaries, whose bullets passed through his body without meeting matter. "The tactical sciences team was unable to fabricate a third working combat suit sufficiently quickly, so I volunteered. As you can see, my holographic body cannot be harmed by conventional weapons."

"Another A.I.?" Garrus asked as the twin teams advanced. "We're keeping dangerous company, Shepard."

"Your experiences with A.I. are our experiences with genetic tailoring," Fessenden told the turian. "It's been decades since the first fully-sentient lifeform was created, and he sacrificed himself six years ago to save his ship and captain. We've even sent ships that are partly crewed by holographic individuals on a long-term mission to the Delta Quadrant." She stepped forward around the corner and dropped two turian mercenaries with her phaser.

The rest of the corridor was clear, and Shepard quickly opened the door to the cryo control room with her omni-tool, allowing Fessenden to take point and stun the unarmored technician. While the _Normandy_ squad scanned the room, the Emergency Command Hologram made a beeline for the control panel.

"Bad news," he announced, scanning the interface with his tricorder. "Without proper authorization, there's no way to unseal Jack's cryo pod without opening every cell on the ship."

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Shepard replied. "Open the pod." Mackenzie nodded, and the hologram tapped the controls.

An enormous mechanical arm reached around, drawing the attention of a pair of story-tall combat mechs, and twisted a massive metal disc in the floor. Then it withdrew the disc, and, with it, the skeletal cage and restraint bed that held the prisoner known only as Jack.

Jack was a small, bald, tattoo-covered woman, wearing only combat boots and cargo pants, with a set of thin leather strips across her upper torso that covered her nipple and little else. Once again, Mackenzie raised and eyebrow, although Garrus took the words from his mouth before he could say anything.

"That's Jack?"

Of course, Starfleet had encountered numerous individuals who were more powerful than their physical appearance suggested, from the Angosian super-soldier who confronted the _Enterprise_ -D to the godlike Charlie who had nearly destroyed the very first _Enterprise_ to serve the Federation. Still, being actually confronted with such an individual, as well as the multi-layered inhumanity of her imprisonment, held the captain in awe. Then one cuff popped off, and Jack clawed at her collar. The other cuff broke, and then Jack was free. A third heavy mech had deployed itself to face her, but the biotic simply screamed, a bestial sound that reminded Mackenzie of a mother sehlat, gathered her biotics, and charged, while the team hurried to intercept her.

Releasing Jack, they quickly discovered, had triggered more than one firestorm aboard the _Purgatory_. Alarms blared as the team navigated wrecked and burning internal corridors, with the prison ship's VI twice announcing life support failures with instant total casualties in multiple sectors. They finally exited into a large room filled with guards and loose prisoners, both shooting at anyone else they saw. Phaser fire and Shepard's and Garrus's marksmanship, augmented by Dr. Parker's personal force fields and Kasumi's close-quarters surprise attacks, decimated the opposition, while the officers, hologram, and commandos suffered hardly a scratch. Even the attack of a heavy mech failed swiftly, as concentrated rapid nadion beams induced subatomic chain reactions that turned the hulking war machine into so much vapor and scrap.

They hurried on through another burning corridor, and found Warden Kuril standing on a mezzanine, taking potshots at the few unshielded, unarmored escaped prisoners who still surrounded him.

"Not surprising they're willing to fight to the death, even if they did think Kuril would let them surrender," Garrus murmured. The squad took cover from Kuril's assault as Garrus, in response to Fessenden's questioning look, briefly elaborated on the conditions he, Shepard, and their companion had seen while en route to "outprocessing."

A bullet dinged off Mackenzie's cover, and he ducked farther down before popping up to take a shot of his own. The beam passed through the kinetic barrier, which flared and pulsed, but Mackenzie hadn't taken the time to aim properly, and his shot nonetheless went wide.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, Shepard!" Kuril yelled, blasting inaccurately at the _Normandy_ and Starfleet teams. "At least I can recapture Jack!"

"What about us?" Fessenden asked, standing up from behind her crate to lose a phaser blast that annihilated one of his kinetic dome projectors.

Before he could answer, the ECH stood up and fired through the weakened shield. Kuril fired back the moment he saw the holographic officer, but his shots met as little resistance from their target as the phaser beam did from the kinetic bubble, and Kuril crashed to the floor.

* * *

A bestial roar echoed from the docking area, and the Starfleet officers raced after Shepard, Garrus, and the cloaking woman. A bald, shirtless woman was pacing like a caged tiger, her gaze returning constantly to the _Normandy_ , which was visible through the massive window. Her agitation, however, was distracting her, and a mercenary was approaching behind her. Fessenden saw the man as well, raised her phaser, and fired, catching him between the eyes and dropping him like a sack of bricks.

Jack froze for a fraction of a second, then turned to face the group, backing up infinitesimally and shifting her weight from side to side.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked, covering herself by going—verbally—on the offensive.

"You're in a bad situation," Shepard answered, stepping forward, "and I'm going to get you out of here."

"Shit, you sound like a pussy," the convict responded. Mackenzie raised an eyebrow beneath his helmet, and Jack added, "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're _Cerberus_." The venom she put into the terrorist organization's name spoke plainly of past interactions, and he made a note to investigate the particulars of Cerberus' history as he stepped forward.

"Only those three are working for Cerberus, and for that's more of a technicality," he said, keeping his phaser level. "My crew and I have allied with Commander Shepard to fight the Collectors, and she wants your help as well."

"A technicality, right," Jack scoffed. "You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?"

"I don't share Cerberus' methods or overall goals," Shepard told her, gesturing pointedly to Garrus. "But this ship is going up in flames, we can get you to safety, and we're asking for your help. Besides, it doesn't seem like you mind causing a little mayhem."

"We could knock her out and take her," Garrus suggested, though he remained upright and relaxed.

Jack was not relaxed. Mackenzie doubted whether she had been in years—even discounting the time she'd spent in cryo. "I'd like to see you try," she challenged.

Shepard reached in front of Garrus, and Mackenzie deliberately stepped back to cast the spotlight more firmly on the _Normandy_ 's commander.

"We're not going to attack her," Shepard stated, speaking as much to Jack as to her comrades.

"Good move," Jack replied, stepping forward. "Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while."  
"Join my team and I'll do what I can for you," Shepard promised. Mackenzie tensed slightly, and saw Fessenden do the same: that was a risky thing to say to a complete and clearly dangerous and unstable unknown.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," the convict shot back. She stepped forward again, crossing her arms and looking Shepard in the eye. "I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team, let me go through those databases." Mackenzie exhaled in relief at the simple request. Of course, her intentions were almost certain to be less straightforward than the initial request, but his limited knowledge of Cerberus—the organization had, after all, been introduced to him as a pro-human terrorist group, by someone working for it—led him to have no qualms about sharing their data, and he doubted Shepard would take issue with the demand, either.

"I'll give you full access," the commander assented without a beat.

"You better be straight up with me," Jack threatened, leaning in with a finger pointed at Shepard's chest. Then she straightened up and looked through the window at the _Normandy_. "So why the hell are we standing here?"

Shepard ordered her team to move out, and Mackenzie threw the commander a friendly salute before keying his communicator via his wrist gauntlet. "Mackenzie to _Marathon_. Jack is free and friendly. Three to beam up." The last thing the Starfleet officers saw was Jack staring open-mouthed at their disappearing forms.

* * *

This turned out a bit longer than I expected, although I suppose that's not entirely a bad thing. With any luck the technobabble earlier on didn't overwhelm things. The _Marathon_ has an active AI now, though, which should go over well with everyone in this universe.

Next time: Flashback to medical exchange and traveling forward to Korlus, after which the Starfleet crew will finally meet the "people" they're here over.


End file.
